Kid n’ Play Almost Didn't Star in “House Party”. Director Reginald Hudlin Reveals the Surprising A-Lister He Originally Wanted for the Film (Exclusive)
- - Kid n’ Play Almost Didn't Star in “House Party”. Director Reginald Hudlin Reveals the Surprising A-Lister He Originally Wanted for the Film (Exclusive)
Angela AndaloroJanuary 27, 2026 at 4:34 AM
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Christopher 'Kid' Reid and Christopher 'Play' Martin in 'House Party'
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Reginald Hudlin first started House Party as a student film and continued to work at the concept until the release of the film with New Line Cinema
Hudlin tells PEOPLE about what it took to make one of the most profitable films of the decade
House Party, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in March 2025, has entered The Criterion Collection, which has released the beloved film in 4K Ultra HD
Reginald Hudlin believes everything happens for a reason.
The writer-director was just a college student himself when he came up with the idea for what would become House Party, which has been released in 4K Ultra HD from The Criterion Collection. Speaking to PEOPLE for the special occasion, he shares how it went from a Harvard University project to one of the biggest films of the '90s.
"I remember when it was still just the student film, sometimes I would show in double features with Spike Lee's college films and I was like, 'Wow, that's pretty good. It's really playing.' So there was just the excitement of like, 'Oh, you did something,' " he tells PEOPLE.
"And it really came home when we had a rough cut screening of the movie on the Fox lot. We were trying to get to the lot, but there was terrible traffic. And I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to be late for my own screening.' And I realized the traffic was from people trying to get on the lot to see the movie. I said, 'Whoa, this is big. '"
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Kid n Play in "House Party"
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Watching the reaction to the film gave Hudlin the confidence to know he made a hit. "From that to Sundance, we did it at a midnight screening and people went crazy, so they added all these additional screenings because everybody wanted to see it and we won awards. So it's just been literally a wonderful ride from the beginning."
Developing the movie with "the money out my pocket," Hudlin originally planned to cast "some baby hip hop act." Things evolved when New Line Cinema came on board with the vision.
"They had recently, successfully sued Will Smith because on the Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince album, they illegally sampled from Nightmare on Elm Street. And as part of the settlement, they had to do a movie for New Line," he explained.
"So New Line was like, 'Hey, why don't you cast a movie with them?' I said, 'That'd be great.' So I met with their manager, who said, 'We're not making a movie with you. Who are you? We got a big Hollywood deal.' "
"House Party" film poster
Everett
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Everett
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Everett
Hudlin said despite the fact that "they blew me off," he has no hard feelings.
"Their life turned out fine, even though they weren't in House Party. And it kind of worked out for me, too. So it would've been awesome, but it was not meant to be."
It turned out that Kid n' Play, comprised of Christopher 'Kid' Reid and Christopher 'Play' Martin, fit in perfectly with the rest of the cast, giving it a "high school feel" when they got together to film.
"For the most part, all of us hadn't done this before. Kid 'n Play had never been in a movie before. I had never made a movie before. The most experienced person was Tisha Campbell. She was in Little Shop of Horrors and she was in School Daze, so she was the veteran," he explained.
"The rest of us were just figuring it out, but we had so much fun every day. The camaraderie was incredible and when we get back together, it's still like high school where you're like, 'Yep, we're back in the same groove.' Yes, we've got kids and all that stuff, but it doesn't matter. We still have the same special connection to each other."
The audience also had a special connection with the movie, which is still bringing viewers back to that special time, 35 years later.
"It's the ultimate verification. We were a box office hit. We made 10 times our money back. We were one of the biggest movies of that decade in terms of return on the investment. We won awards, but to stand the test of time is the ultimate reward. To see people who weren't born when the movie came out to embrace it as their own, that's the best hug you can get."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
